Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic steps is he taking to ensure that health organisations across the world are providing consistent advice and taking consistent action in relation to covid-19.

The UK continues to support global efforts to combat the outbreak of COVID-19. We have world leading medical expertise, an unparalleled diplomatic network and experience working with countries to overcome public health emergencies. Our overseas missions have prioritised efforts to engage foreign governments on COVID-19 response. The UK is also working closely with our G7 partners, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the EU and other international partners.

The British Government is providing £5m to WHO (~10% of the current appeal) to help counter the spread in developing countries and is deploying UK medical experts to priority countries. Through the WHO, the UK is funding efforts to reduce the risk of the spread of the disease by supporting developing countries most at risk of coronavirus. This includes training rapid response teams and medical staff to identify and respond to symptoms, raising awareness in developing countries of how to avoid coronavirus and predicting the spread of the virus to better target future support.